The California legislature is weighing a proposal by governor Gavin Newsom to set aside $300 million for low-income schools. But some education advocates say it won’t do enough to improve educational outcomes for black students.
Assemblymember Akilah Weber is a democrat from San Diego. She introduced a bill last year aimed at ensuring that more education money reaches black students. But she pulled the bill after conversations with Newsom, citing concerns that it could violate the state or US Constitution because it focused on one specific racial group. That’s despite the fact it didn’t mention “black” by name. The democratic governor’s new approach instead targets money to schools with a high concentration of students who qualify for free lunch under a federal program.
Assemblymember Akilah Weber supports the new proposal by the governor.
